[mechocoholic]

Jenny...thanku so much for mentioning the shuddering feeling and also giving some explanation for me....i have felt the same thing and was wondering/worried about the same...but now i am a little more relaxed after reading everyone share their experience as well....my baby is also super active..so looks like a bunch of super active babies on their way in december...

[andyhaefner3]

Jen just enjoy the attention while u can cos when the baby is born you dissolve into the background!!
I just had some freaky news...I called the medical insurance to get an authorization number so I can book my bed at the hospital and they tell me that the hospital wher my doc is at isnt covered under their scheme!!!!Im like WTF????I have had 3 kids there and been with the same doc for 20 ears and Im not about to change!!So the lady says they will cover 75% and we must cover 25%!!Thats a heap of money!!!
I phoned my doc and he was so mad he said he would speak to the medical director.They also wanted a letter from him stating that I need a c sect even tho I have had 3 and cant have natural.They are sooo picky!!
The doc asked me if I thought it was a good idea to be going to Thailand and I said yes I thought it was a wonderful idea and I feel great!!He didnt seem so convinced...Yikes....Its to late to cancel now!Buthe wrote the letter granting permission from him for the airline...so Im still going!!!Do you all think Im nuts?

[Persephone1881]

I was watching TV last night and caught this show on TLC (I think) that was talking about this woman in England who had triplets, but one of them had developed outside the uterus. According to an article I found today, she'd had 2 babies implant in the uterus and a 3rd in one of her tubes. When her tube ruptured, the embryo implanted on the outside of her uterus and continued developing. Apparently the odds of a baby surviving a tubal rupture is about 60 million to one. All three babies were delivered about 2 months early and there was a 99% chance the third baby wouldn't survive. At the time of the show (it must be about 3 years old as they were born in 1999 and the show said they were 6), all three children were perfectly fine. It's simply amazing. BBC News | Health | Doctors hail 'miracle' baby

[Persephone1881]

When are you going to Thailand, Andy? And for how long? I think if you're feeling good and haven't had any complications, there's no reason to not go.

And it's not the attention I mind, I just get tired of being asked how I'm feeling. I'm 7 months pregnant.. I have a small human growing inside me that I think is something trying to hatch her way out.. how do you think I feel? Oh well.. at least I know people care

[wannabigbabybelly]

I watched one that made me soooooo sad yesterday.

A woman in India(I think) concieved fraternal twins.

They didn't know until the delivery that one of the twins had actually split and had an identical twin that was conjoined at the head.

They called it a parasitic twin since it had a head (full brain), and chest (with ribs and spine) but no lungs or heart etc. and nothing below the rib cage. And no arms or anything.

It acted seperately from the healthy twin(when one was sleeping the other was awake), could open and close it's eyes, had a sucking reflex etc. It just had no chance of survival apart from it's twin because it depended on it for it's blood supply to keep it alive.

Apparently the healthy twin had already suffered 4 major heart problems by the time it was about 10 months old because of having to work overtime to keep both twins alive.

So the dr.s and parents decided to do an operation to seperate the twins (knowing it would mean certian death for the parasitic twin), and knowing that a surgery of this kind had never been done succesfully, the healthy baby had always passed away as well(mainly from blood loss during surgery).

If it was succesful ( a BIG IF)...then there was a big risk of brain damage for the healthy twin since the two babies brains were connected.

Well, long story short...they seperated the twins...the parasitic twin died immediately of course and the healthy twin was hospitalized for a good year...finally it was healthy enough to go home but it wan't the same. It had suffered brain damage and not long after died of an infection.

It was so hard to watch and has me sick with questions of what would I have done in that situation and for me....I don't think I could have went through with the operation...knowing it would kill the one child and knowing the chance of the remaining twin surviving and having a normal life would have required more than a miracle.

I think I would have just allowed my precious twins to live on this earth together as long as possible, and to be happy and enjoy every minute we had with them, then be at peace knowing they both were so special and came into the world together and left the world together, when the time was right.

The very very sad part for me was... instead of talking about the twin as a HUMAN...they kept calling it a PARASITE. I understand the term parasitic twin...yes...it depended on the other twin for life, but it was still a human being, it had it's own spirit, it's own personality, it wasn't just some PARASITE.

The other sad thing for me was that when the mom had her daughter back and was taking care of her at home she said it was like a completely different child. She used to smile all the time and was so happy and now she didn't smile anymore. Oh it broke my heart.

I still can't stand thinking about it, it makes me just want to cry.

[wannabigbabybelly]

The start of this third trimester has hit me hard so far.

I've been getting a couple headaches that have turned into migraines and I also had a shaky, cold/clamy, faint feeling spell yesterday.

Not fun...

Also lots of stretching pains/cramps when I'm laying down/rolling over, a lot stronger and more frequent than before. I guess my little one is really packing on the ounces and stretching me out in there.

[wannabigbabybelly]

uhg and time is flying by wayyyyyyy tooo fast and I'm sooooo not prepared.STRESS>>STRESS>>>STRESS

My grandma will be here wednesday at noon and my house is still completely tore apart. My step dad and his new wife will be here on sun/monday/tuesday and then of course my sisters wedding on monday that I have to SEW a dress for, and help get all the last minute stuff ready(which happens to be a LOT of stuff).

DH....just finished the major remodeling for my oldest sons room, and when he gets home from work today he has this guy coming to lay down the carpet, then he just has some paint touch-ups left to do....so MAYBE we can finally get all my sons beds/dressers/toys/clothes etc. out of our main living spaces....by this evening...if not tonight definately tomorrow...and then try and get the rest of the house at least looking decent and ready for all our family.

I'm worn out just thinking about it(uhg I think I feel another headache coming on)...I just want to fall into my bed and wake up to it all completely done and over with.

How did this week sneak up onto us sooooo fast????

I have NO desire to face my house today...it just seems like such a monster of a job. Anyone have a fairy godmothers or a magic wand handy? I could use one right now.

[Persephone1881]

That is so sad about the twins. And I agree with you about them calling the one twin a parasite. That's just awful.

As for the headaches, are you making sure to drink enough water? I know it's not the only cause (boy do I know) but sometimes dehydration can cause headaches. If they get really bothersome, ask your OB if they can prescribe you something. I know most of us don't really want to take a lot of meds while we're pregnant, but I'd rather pop a pill every so often than be out with a migraine. My doc gave me Lortab which knock out the headaches, but they also make me super nauseous so I have to take them with a Zofran and only after I've eaten.

And that shaky feeling could be your blood sugar dropping. I get that every now and then and it usually goes away pretty quickly if I eat a little something with sugar in it.

I certainly wish I had a magic wand or a fairy godmother.. it would make getting my house ready for this baby so much easier. A house elf would be nice too. If anyone finds one, let me know where!

[rebecca0130]

Jenn and Andy - thanks for the Anniversary wishes. Unfortunately, we did not do something special - first time ever - since our son was the ringbearer in a wedding on Saturday. We spent most of the day packing and driving and then at a rehearsal dinner.....it was long, exhausting and we pledged to pick a night this month to celebrate appropriately. But I must say, he might be the cutest 2 year old in a tux EVER.

Andy -- if you feel fine and healthy and good about going, then go to Thailand.

Jess - enjoy the week with your g-ma!

B - bring on those photos

[bd711]

Hi all. Thank you all for the wonderful well-wishes for our shotgun wedding! I really appreciate it. I'm not posting pictures yet because my camera apparently lost its battery before the ceremony even started, so I'm waiting on photos from others. Someone did drop by a video today, and I cried yet again.

It was really quite beautiful. I don't know whether I explained before, but it was a community event - with my Jewish community (called a Havurah, meaning group of friends). We were one of three couples there to make our marriages legal. We'd all had weddings before and considered ourselves married, but this time it was made legal with a Rabbi officiating, etc. (one of the couples has been married for 25 years!) Although some of the ceremony was focused on the couples, much of it was a celebration of our community - and how fabulous they have been for supporting our relationships long before the state caught up. So, the community put together the ceremony - it was at the close of a weekend retreat, so folks were very casual (camping chic, we called it), but so full of spirit and community. Suffice it to say, I wept several times. It was nice to be able to blame it on the pregnancy, but I'm pretty sure I would've teared up regardless. Anyway, I promise to post pictures as soon as I have some.

Jenn - You asked a few days ago about whether there was a movement to make gay marriages illegal again in California - and there is. There's a proposition on our ballot in November to change the state constitution to bar gay marriage, even though our state Supreme Court said it violates equal protection. We're fighting the proposition hard, but it's also good to know that there aren't any instances of taking away constitutional rights once they're granted - so DW and I are safely married. If you'all know anyone in California, please tell them to vote No on Prop 8. (ok, off my soapbox).

Rebecca - Happy belated anniversary! I guess it's not really too late since you and DH are spreading out the celebration by going out sometime this week. Enjoy it! I'm sure getting time just the two of you will be radically more difficult when you've got 2 kids to tend to! I can imagine that your son was a fabulous ringbearer - one of my favorite parts of our wedding this weekend was the flower girls and boys who were SO proud of their rosepetal spreading abilities.

Andy - I'm sorry about the insurance woes. I hope your dr can straighten them out. Sounds like insurance down under is no better than what we contend with here, huh? Good luck getting it straightened out. And I agree with Jenn - if you're feeling well, certainly go on your trip!

Jess - I'm with you on the 3rd trimester hitting hard. Some days I'm just completely wiped out. And my knuckles are really unhappy - it must be the swelling - but it makes it very hard to get comfortable at night for some reason.

Jenn - I'm with you on being tired of folks asking "how ARE you?" The other day when my sister-in-law asked me that on the phone, I automatically said "I'm doing well, thanks." Then I paused and said "Wait. Let me think about that. Because I'm on autopilot answering that question all day. And I'm thinking you might want a real answer." Turned out I was feeling fine. But we got a good laugh out of it.

I hope everyone's doing well. Tomorrow is my ultrasound to make sure that the placenta has moved away from my cervix. I'm excited to get to see Boo again - it's been so long!


B

[Persephone1881]

Congrats on the wonderful wedding day Bethany. I think it's fantastic that you have such a supportive community.

That sucks about the proposition to ban gay marriages. I don't understand why it matters to so many people whether or not other people get married. And I really don't understand why it matters enough to go so far as to put it in the state constitution. There really are more important things to worry about. (Thanks for letting me share your soapbox )

I didn't know you had an issue with your placenta being close to your cervix. I must have either missed that post or just completely forgotten about it. I hope it's moved! And yay for another ultrasound!! I hope I remember to ask next week if I'll get another one. I'd be happy with just a quick one to check her position.

[bd711]

Hi all. We had our ultrasound this morning, and the placenta has moved! We had really expected it to, so we weren't too worried, but it's good to be sure. And all else is great. The only thing that freaked me out is that our Boo is already 4 pounds 4 ounces. Yikes! From the books, we were expecting around 3 pounds. The dr was completely unphased by that size - and told us he expects the baby to be around 8 pounds by the time s/he joins us on the outside. But I'm still in a little shock.

So, Boo didn't seem so happy with the u/s, so s/he is looking very grumpy (a grumpy old man, to be exact). We know that many babies look like old men - but this one's a very cute little old guy! Hopefully my uploading works.

Jenn - Thanks for stepping on the soapbox with me. The truly incredible thing in this process is how many allies we feel like we've got, both personally and politically, through all this. It really means a lot. Hopefully all of our children will grow up in a world a little more embracing of everyone, including our differences.

B

Boo at 31 weeks 2.JPG

[rebecca0130]

B - that is one of the best photos I have ever seen of an u/s - your little looks great!!! I was also surprised by the weight - whew! I wonder how big my little one is.

and for the record, if I lived in CA, I would vote YES, YES, YES.

[bd711]

Thanks Rebecca - on both fronts. Though, for the record, I think you'd vote NO, NO, NO (the yes folks are trying to take away the right of gay couples to marry). B

[rebecca0130]

Originally Posted by bd711

Thanks Rebecca - on both fronts. Though, for the record, I think you'd vote NO, NO, NO (the yes folks are trying to take away the right of gay couples to marry). B

B - I am so sorry, yes, you are correct. Oops. NO NO NO NO NO - hope that helps
This darn preggo brain.